1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to vehicle collision repair, in particular to the straightening of a damaged post or panel of the vehicle's body or frame. Specifically, the present invention is directed to a clamp accessory that can be used with existing prior art clamps to pull on a damaged vehicle's post or panel that has an edge, or lip disposed on the rear of the post or panel. Once the prior art clamp, and clamp accessory of the present invention is attached, straightening is accomplished by pulling on the clamp accessory with an external force to return the post or panel back to its original shape.
2. Brief Description of Prior Art
Automotive accidents produce damage of varying severity to the involved vehicles. In a relatively minor automobile accident of the “fenderbender” type, only the bodywork of the automobile is damaged. The automobile can then be generally repaired by replacing the damaged bodywork panel. In more severe accidents, all or part of the frame of the automobile can be bent, in addition to the bodywork panels.
The prior art method to repair a damaged vehicle's bent frame is to generally grab hold of the damaged portion with a prior art pull clamp or sling, attach an external frame straightening puller to the frame, and apply a sufficiently large pulling force by the external puller to the pull clamp or sling and thence to the frame, so that the frame is straightened back to its original form.
A problem with the prior art method discussed above is that it is often required to remove bolted-on vehicle parts such as headlights, fenders, etc., or attached glass such as windshields, windows etc., in order for the pull clamp or sling to properly access or grab the frame. Removing vehicle parts in order to ultimately access the damaged frame of the vehicle results in increased labor cost, as well as additional risk of windshield or window breakage and bodywork damage.
The present invention concerns an automotive clamp accessory that allows a prior art pull clamp to grip the rear edge or lip of a damaged post or panel without first being required to remove bolted-on vehicle parts or attached glass in order for the pull clamp to properly access or grab the frame. As will be seen from the subsequent description, the preferred embodiments of the present invention overcome the above problems and difficulties of the prior art.